Habs edge Bruins to sit atop division

Montreal Canadiens center Alex Galchenyuk, right, goes after the puck to score against Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, left, during the first period of their NHL hockey match at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, April 6, 2013.

Photograph by: Dario Ayala
, The Gazette

The skinny: The loss of defenceman Alexei Emelin took some of the joy away from the Canadiens’ 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Emelin left the game with a left knee injury after a collision with Boston’s Milan Lucic.

Where they’re at: The win tightened the Canadiens’ grasp on first place in the Northeast Division. Montreal, which took three of four games from its Boston rivals this season, has 55 points for a three-point edge over the Bruins, who hold a game in hand. Montreal is also three back of idle Pittsburgh in the battle for first place in the Eastern Conference and the Canadiens have played one fewer game in that race.

Playoff feel: There was a playoff atmosphere to the game and Carey Price, who made 28 saves in his first win over Boston this season, described the three goals in the game as “playoff goals, lucky goals.” Rookie Alex Galchenyuk scored for the second consecutive game with a bank shot off Bruins defenceman Matt Bartkowski and Michael Ryder redirected P.K. Subban’s power-play shot from the point for his 16th goal. Daniel Paille tipped a shot by Johnny Boychuk for the Boston goal.

Hard but clean: When Andrew Ference and Francis Bouillon received coincidental minors for roughing at 1:56 of the first period, there was an sense this game might get out of hand, but there were only two other penalties. Lucic took a dumb cross-checking penalty late in the first period and Ryder made the No. 1 penalty-killing team in the NHL pay when he scored a power-play goal 57 seconds into the second period. Lars Eller went into the box for holding Zdeno Chara at 19:03. The Bruins pulled goaltender Tuukka Rask for a 6-on-4 advantage, but failed to get a shot on goal.

Jagr ineffective: Deadline acquisition Jaromir Jagr was among the Boston players who seemed to lose track of time during the power play at the end of the game. The Bruins seemed so intent on getting the perfect shot that they let the clock run out without attempting one. Jagr played 18:53 and managed only one shot on goal.

Defence steps up: After Emelin went down at 10:54 of the first period, the Canadiens asked the remaining defencemen to play a larger role. Newcomer Davis Drewiske played 23:50 and blocked four shots, while Josh Gorges led the team with six blocks in 26:15. While Yannick Weber and Tomas Kaberle are available to fill in for Emelin, the Canadiens called up Nathan Beaulieu from the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday.

What’s next: The Canadiens are home to Alexander Ovechkin and the surging Washington Capitals on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., TSN-HABS, RDS, TSN-690 Radio). The Canadiens finish the week on the road with games Thursday in Buffalo and Saturday in Toronto.

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Montreal Canadiens center Alex Galchenyuk, right, goes after the puck to score against Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, left, during the first period of their NHL hockey match at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, April 6, 2013.

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